Volume XLIII

I. Toe the Line 🦶

Often misused as “tow the line,” this phrase isn’t about pulling anything.

It comes from 18th-century military drills and early sporting events, where soldiers and athletes were ordered to place their toes right on a line during inspections. One toe over, and you were out of order.

Today, it shows up anytime you’re asked to stick to the script — in politics, at work, or, most dangerously, talking politics at work.

II. Go Bananas 🍌

Whether it was family trips to the zoo or binge-watching viral monkey videos, everyone’s seen a primate absolutely lose it. That wild behavior inspired the phrase “go ape” back in the 1950s. From there came the friendlier spinoff “go bananas” — and, for our more colorful crowd, “go apesh*t.”

We’ve all witnessed someone go bananas, but my all-time favorite will always be those early-2000s Twins games, watching then–manager Ron Gardenhire absolutely lose his mind over a borderline strike-three call. Nothing hit quite like a classic Gardy blow-up.

III. Red Herring 🐟

The true origin of red herring goes back to 1807, when political writer William Cobbett used it in one of his articles. He told an anecdote about using a smoked, smelly herring to throw hunting dogs off the scent of a rabbit.

Not exactly a riveting story, but it was a pointed metaphor: Cobbett was mocking newspapers for chasing sensational stories instead of substance. In doing so, he accidentally coined a pillar of political vocabulary.

Today, a red herring is any deliberate distraction from the real story. Remember “They are eating the dogs, they are eating the cats!”? That might just qualify.

Keep on sending on. Forward to a friend.